Ivory Keys

Basically his rule was if you want to make the dialogue fast-paced, quippy, or the major focus, just use "he said," "she said," "he said" over and over (or "x said," "y said," "x said" for similar-gendered characters). The reader does not care - their brain is filtering it out (and only the writer is reading it as repetitive).

Organized by emotions!

ANGRY/ANNOYED:

Insulted, goaded, jeered, argued, bickered, raged, scolded, complained, nagged, quipped, chided, snarled, ridiculed, snapped, retorted, protested, grumbled, whined, accused, badgered, threatened, lashed, ranted, scoffed, retaliated, stormed, sneered, boomed, roared, yelled, shouted, barked, grilled, fumed, heaved, insisted, bellowed, taunted, sassed

HAPPY:

Beamed, cheered, gushed, bubbled, chirped, resounded, praised, sang, trilled, chorused, tittered, complimented, effused, jabbered, rejoiced, approved, chimed, chatted, exclaimed

SAD:

Bawled, cried, blubbered, sobbed, wept, sniffled, wailed, agonized, grieved, mumbled, groaned, sniveled, apologized, lamented, fretted, gurgled, croaked

CALM/NEUTRAL:

Added, began, addressed, agreed, called, announced, confirmed, described, continued, disclosed, echoed, greeted, emphasized, informed, mentioned, implied, mused, observed, prompted, offered, recited, started, recalled, uttered, reckoned, ventured, went on, pronounced, voiced, noted, remarked, commented, interjected, shared

SCARED:

Cautioned, gulped, swallowed, keened, panted, gasped, shrieked, trembled, shuddered, yelped, warned, hesitated, stammered, stuttered, pleaded, murmured, sputtered,

CURIOUS:

Hummed, questioned, inquired, quizzed, queried, wondered

By which I mean, asks used to be WAY more of the tumblr economy. They used to be more common to send, and receive, and see. They were integral to the collaborative, forum-like behavior of old tumblr communities, not even to speak on the HUGE number of ask-blogs that used to exist to only be interacted with in ask-form.

Pick a topic you like, and that's what you're going to read about. Set a minimum word count, and read until you get to it. Start small. Smart easy. First try, it might actually be agonizing.

That's it for the day. Just hit the word count.

Next day, read to the word count again. Read something new! It will be easier today.

And easier the next.

On top of being scammed, receiving accurate medical treatment relies on you knowing how to do your own research, and too many doctors take illiterate patients less seriously.

If you become a victim of a crime or are accused of a crime, you need to be able to read the papers a cop or lawyer puts in front of you. They can happily take advantage of your ignorance if you give them a chance.

This list goes on! Landlords, real estate agents, accountants, car mechanics, bankers, phone companies, customer service, contractors, childcare workers, e.g. any other human you rely on just to live your life will expect you to be literate and capable of making smart decisions. It is not their job to supplement your ignorance. It is not any well-meaning individual's job to make sure you paid attention in the same classes they did. And most of them know this and will not wait for you to figure things out.